Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026

Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound in Adults: Image Acquisition
Published on: March 3, 2023
An elusive cause of pleural effusion
1Department of Internal Medicine, Health Partners, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. drmks1@gmail.com
Abstract:
A 32-year-old man was admitted with cerebrospinal fluid leakage from a right scalp surgical wound after a resection of recurrent meningioma and reconstruction of skull with muscle flap 3 weeks earlier. On day 4 of admission, he was found to be tachycardic and decreased breath sounds on the right side. Chest x-ray revealed a large right pleural effusion which was found to be exudative after thoracocentesis. Infectious work-up and cytology was negative. CT showed both parietal and visceral pleural masses, which was consistent with meningioma on ultrasound-guided biopsy. He underwent right-side decortication and pleurodesis for recurrent pleural effusion. He declined further treatment and opted for hospice care and expired a month later.
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